Constellation programU.S. manned spaceflight program scheduled as a successor to the space shuttle program. Its earliest flights are planned to carry astronauts to the International Space Station (ISS) beginning in 2015. However, missions to the Moon by 2020 and to Mars after that are the main focus of Constellation.

In January 2004 President George W. Bush called upon the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) to resume manned missions to the Moon and then to begin manned missions to Mars. A key requirement was that this new program be funded by retiring the space shuttle in 2010 after completing the ISS. The new program, called Constellation after the U.S. Navy’s first ship, comprises launch vehicles, a manned spacecraft, and a lunar lander.

A number of options were considered for the new launchers, including adaptations of the existing Delta IV or Atlas V rockets, before it was decided to exploit space shuttle technology to create two new launch vehicles. In June 2006 NASA named the new launchers Ares, after the Greek counterpart of the Roman god Mars. Ares I is designed to carry the manned spacecraft, and the larger Ares V is designed to carry heavier cargo like the lunar lander.

In August 2006 the manned spacecraft, initially dubbed the Crew Exploration Vehicle, was named Orion, after the constellation. Orion is 5 metres (16 feet) in diameter and has a launch mass of 22,700 kilograms (50,000 pounds). It consists of a conical crew module and a cylindrical service module and will be able to spend six months docked to the ISS. The crew module has a volume of 20 cubic metres (700 cubic feet), half of which will be habitable. It will be able to carry a crew of four. (Originally, Orion was designed to carry six people to the ISS and four to the Moon, but, to save money in designing Orion, NASA decided to concentrate initially on the four-person model and leave the six-person Orion as a possibility for later in the Constellation program.) The service module will house the main propulsion system, the attitude-control system, and oxygen and water for the crew module. The overall configuration is reminiscent of the Apollo spacecraft, but the service module will draw power from deployable solar panels rather than from fuel cells. A prototype Orion was delivered to NASA in late 2007. The first test launch flight of an Ares I is scheduled for launched on Oct. 2728, 2009, and the first launch with a crew is scheduled to be directed to the ISS in 2015.

In December 2007 NASA named the lunar lander Altair, after the brightest star in the constellation Aquila. Aquila is the Latin word for eagle, which was also the name of the first manned spacecraft to land on the Moon, Apollo 11’s lunar module. Altair will be a two-stage spacecraft (a descent stage and an ascent stage) and will land four astronauts on the Moon. Its launch mass will be 37,800 kilograms (83,300 pounds).

For a manned mission to the Moon, an Ares V will be launched first, carrying Altair into Earth’s orbit. An Ares I will then launch with Orion, which will dock with Altair’s ascent stage. The second stage of the Ares V will reignite to send Altair and Orion to the Moon, after which the docked spacecraft will withdraw from the spent stage. The service module’s main engine will slow Altair and Orion so they can enter lunar orbit. The crew of four will transfer to Altair and land on the Moon. On the early missions the surface expedition will last a week. The descent stage of Altair will serve as a launch platform for the ascent stage, which will rendezvous in lunar orbit with Orion. The crew will then transfer to Orion, after which the ascent stage will be jettisoned. The service module’s main engine will be used to leave lunar orbit. Just before the spacecraft reenters Earth’s atmosphere, the service module will be jettisoned. The capsule will then discard its basal heat shield and deploy its three parachutes. The normal mode of return will be on land in the United States, but if necessary the capsule will be able to splash down at sea.

In May 2009 the Obama administration announced that it would review the Constellation program to determine whether it is the best option for U.S. manned spaceflight after the end of the space shuttle program. The results of In October 2009 the review are to be announced in October 2009committee announced that, barring a significant increase in NASA’s budget, the schedule for the Constellation program was unrealistic, with the first manned Ares I flight likely occurring between 2017 and 2019.